Regional Work Based Learning Forum

Earlier this month we held another of our joint e-learning forums which bought together staff from adult and community and work based learning organisations from across the region to hear about the latest developments in e-learning. It also offered an opportunity for providers in the region to get together and discuss a range of issues relating to their own use of technology.

On the day several of our advisers outlined a range of our current initiatives that are currently available to you, including:

   

• Latest Jisc Innovation through Technology Funding Call
• Preparing for Safer Internet Day event
• RSC Assist: Bespoke Support for your E-Learning Projects
• Personalised Learning and Tablet Loan Scheme
• New home for the Excellence Gateway E-Learning Case Studies
• Assistive Technology Kit Loan Bags
• E-Learning Progress Reviews

Details of each of these initiatives can now also be found on a supporting wiki page that was made available to delegates.

If you missed this forum but would like more details on any of the above please do get in touch. Don’t forget, that if you are one of our supported providers you may also benefit from free consultations on any other areas of e-learning that fall within our full range of support.

We hope to see you at the next WBL forum in the New Year. Until then if you have any suggestions for topics that you would like to see covered in the next one let us know!

 
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Jisc Innovation Through Technology Funding call

These last few weeks several of us in the RSC team have been dealing with your enquiries about the latest round of Jisc FE and Skills funding. This one million pound funding programme aims to improve the learner experience and increase the capability and capacity of the workforce, and covers all of FE and Skills. If you haven’t already applied for this, there is still time but the deadline is 6^th December which is approaching very soon!

For those considering submitting bids the following links might be useful:

• Our colleagues at RSC Eastern ran a workshop recently that looked more closely at what this funding can be used for and ways to apply. All the resources from that event are available to view online, along with the presentations from the day.  What might be of particular interest is the two ‘Padlet’ pages where providers expressed some of their ideas for projects as that gives a rough idea of what people are typically considering doing with the funds.

•  As part of that same event there were also two bid writing workshops hosted by Angus Carpenter, and the recording of these workshops is also available. This first session looked at the project development process and considerations for collaborative bids. Available as a recording here. The second session examined the funding call documents, with Angus explaining how bidders can align the project documents with their ideas. Available here.

Should you need any more information about this current funding call please get in touch. Good luck to all that apply!

 
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New - JISC Advance Funding for the FE and Skills sector

On Friday 17 February 2012, JISC Advance will seek proposals to enhance or repurpose existing resources to be used in the FE and Skills sector across the UK. This £1.4 million project will both improve the learner experience and increase provider efficiencies, in line with sector policies throughout the UK.

This opportunity is two-fold and offers sector providers and agencies the chance to:

• apply existing resources (from JISC or elsewhere) to their work and adapt them for their needs
• identify gaps in these resources or current uses for technology leading to the development of additional resources for the sector.

An initial £450,000 will be available to adapt existing resources with a further £900,000 available for development projects to address any gaps.

The project will be supported by the Regional Support Centres (RSCs) who will provide advice and support for providers in developing and implementing their projects.

Guy Lambert, Managing Director of JISC Advance said: “This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for the FE and Skills sector and JISC Advance is proud to be leading the project. Not only will it enhance the learner experience, but it will also improve the efficiency and effectiveness of providers, a challenge which everyone is currently facing.”

To get involved, take part in our online launch on Friday 17 February at 11am. https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?sid=2009077&password=M.61BD281911F0450B6066CE16DE977D

Although you don’t need to register, it would be helpful if you told us you are attending by e-mailing support@rsc-scotland.ac.uk.

Alternatively, contact your local RSC [www.jiscrsc.ac.uk] or Nigel Ecclesfield, Programme Manager at JISC Advance nigel.ecclesfield@jiscadvance.ac.uk tel: 07508 531431.

We look forward to seeing you online!

Note:

On the day, the broadcast will be enabled 15 minutes before the scheduled time to allow you to check in and get settled before the presentation starts. You will need headphones to listen to the session without disturbing others around you.

Please note that we will be recording the session so that it can be viewed at a later date, this includes all chat comments, audio and presentation slides.

Blackboard Collborate is the platform we are using for this session. If you are new to using Collaborate we recommend that you read the Guidance Notes for further information on setting up and getting the most out of the presentation. You can also access a Quick Guide to Collaborate here.

To test your workstation and see if there are any problems, such as network configuration issues or browser compatibility, run the Collaborate Test Facility.

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Related Wobble links:

Bid Writing Resources

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LSIS Funding for Excellence Gateway Projects

The Excellence Gateway is undergoing significant development at the moment. To support this work the Excellence Gateway team at LSIS has recently announced funding opportunities for six provider-led projects which will help them to further improve access to the Gateway's content and services.

They are planning to fund the following areas of work:

• Review and improvement of a nominated area of content, including retagging of items. Total funding of up to £75,000 (inc VAT) is available for this strand of work, which will consist of three projects, each funded up to a maximum of£25,000 (inc VAT).
  


• Creation of resources to support users of the Excellence Gateway, including user guides. Funding of up to £25,000 (inc VAT).



• Sustainable development of key National Learning Network (NLN) materials, which are currently hosted by LSIS. Total funding of up to £20,000 (inc VAT) is available for this strand of work, which will consist of two projects, each funded up to a maximum of £10,000 (inc VAT).

The deadline for completion of each of the projects is March 31st 2012. Further details, and the closing date for applications, can be found on the LSIS website.


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Funding Opportunity - The Learning Journey Made Mobile

It’s quite exciting today as we have just launched a brand new initiative which offers regional work based learning providers the opportunity to bid for capital funding to purchase mobile devices. This new project – “The Learning Journey made Mobile” is being led by myself and Jason Curtis whom I’ve introduced on Wobble previously.

The purpose of the initiative is to capture and explore ten innovative examples of where mobile technology has been used to support and enhance the learner on their learning journey.

Each successful bid will receive £500 to purchase a number of mobile devices to use in their proposed project. All we ask for in return is a short report at the end of the project which may feed into a regional case study.

You can find out more about this project and access all the supporting documentation on a dedicated project wiki page at: http://wiki.rscwmsystems.org.uk/index.php/Learning_Journey_Made_Mobile

We look forward to receiving your enquiries – but be quick, the deadline for submissions is 12pm on Mon 29th Nov 2010.

I’ll keep you posted on how this develops.

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Related wobble links:

Mobile Learning in the Work Based Learning Sector
Information Sheets on Technology for E-Learning
Molesharing Mobile Learning Resources
Kineo's mobile learning guide (pdf)
Go Mobile - free publication


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Flexibility and Innovation Fund - Round 2

More funding for Work Based Learning providers to support their e-learning development.

LSIS have recently opened the second of three bidding rounds for its Flexibility and Innovation Fund. In this, Learning and skills providers can bid for funding of up to £90,000 for projects which are ‘innovative and which have the potential significantly to enhance the performance of the sector’. Bids can be submitted by providers individually or in groups.

For ideas of what has been successful previously, see this complete list of the 31 projects that were successful in a previous round. You can also read brief outlines of their projects there too. The deadline for this second round of bidding is 19 February 2010. You can get full details plus application forms, guidance notes etc on the Excellence Gateway.

To read more of Wobble click here.

Greener Computing

One of our E-Learning Advisers (Jane Edwards) has recently been looking at ways that learning providers can both save money and work more efficiently by thinking more about sustainable computing; something also referred to as Green ICT. It is a large area and one that is currently attracting a lot of funding and is the subject of much research.

To help to make sense of all of the available information and to make it easier for regional providers to know where to start, Jane has set up a page on our wiki which brings together a number of key resources.

She notes: “...Whether you are a manager, or a lecturer..., there is no avoiding the fact that matters concerning the environment affect everyone.
The government wants to reduce carbon emissions by 1.2 million tonnes of carbon per year until 2020 and to help it achieve this, it has introduced the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) - a compulsory trading scheme to encourage large businesses and public sector organisations to reduce their CO2 emissions. In any case, it is obvious that by reducing energy use and using ICT more efficiently, you also reduce your energy bills; and you may also be genuinely interested in how carbon emissions affect the world we live in.

On this page you will find information on green agenda government papers, green ICT events and other useful links for the education sector.”

The wiki page is available here.

If you are keen to learn more about ways that your organisation can become greener in the ways it uses technology contact Jane by email or phone.



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Image “Don’t forget to recycle” courtesy of Pylon757

£3m Workplace E-Learning Funding

Launch of more Learner Innovation Grants, just one week to go...!

"Work-based learning providers are being encouraged to bid for £3 million of funding, from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), to help the sector adopt new technology and explore innovative ways of applying ICT solutions.

The Association of Learning Providers (ALP), which is managing the Government's Learning Innovation Grant (LIG) project, is inviting applications from providers that have not bid before as well as consortia bids. Bidders will be able to apply for the new funding, the fifth tranche in a £13 million scheme, from Friday 4 September... " See here for more details.

This is an exciting opportunity for work based learning providers to get assistance with e-learning projects. A large number of providers have already benefited from the grants. Full details and a prospects will be available next week but it's worth thinking about this ahead of time as the deadlines are likely to be tight!

If you would like more information about this funding or help with preparing a bid please get in touch. I'll post more details as they become available.

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Related links:

Previous Round of Learner Innovation Grants
New Report - ALP Evaluation of LIG Phase 4 - 2009
List of LIG Phase 4 Funding Allocations

To read more of Wobble click here.

Funding Updates and ALP Showcasing Best Practice

Last week I attended the Provider of the Future event run by the Association of Learning Providers. This was a good event with a mix of presentations and opportunities to speak with providers who had done some pretty impressive things with e-learning.

My colleague Stan Unwin of the East Midlands Regional Support Centre has nicely summarised the events of the day in his blog post on Innovate so if you couldn’t make the event and were keen to find out what it covered please read his summary.

Key things to note:

· “Chris Swingler (ALP National Projects Development Officer) confirmed that the LIG 4 exercise had attracted bids to the value of £14 million against a funding pot of £4million. Great to see so much interest although as Stan notes it will mean some disappointment for some. (Results of this latest bidding round are being announced this week).

· Skills Capital Funding - Laurence Leader (LSC Capital Policy Director) announced details of new capital funding, aimed at non college providers and intended to “…give a wider range of training provider’s access to new investment which will enable them to develop and deliver specialised services, such as Apprenticeships and work-based learning.” More details on Innovate.

· 3 showcase presentations demonstrated what providers had achieved with previous rounds of LIG funding. Attendees got the chance to speak with other providers about what they were doing with e-learning.

· Lesley Price (BECTA, Head of Regeneration & Skills) spoke about the new BECTA initiative ‘Next Generation Learning at Work’ and made a plea for providers to get involved.

Thanks Stan for providing such a comprehensive outline of the day with supporting resources and links. I’m looking forward to learning which new LIG 4 projects will be funded this week, and the possibility of a ‘Provider of the Future 2009’.

How to Win Those Bids for E-learning Projects!

Last year, I did a survey with Learning Providers in the West Midlands region and asked ‘Does your organisation face any of the following barriers in embedding ILT?’ It was no surprise that funding and lack of finances came out very high, in second place in fact. (Number one was ‘lack of knowledge about e-learning, hence the setting up of this blog!)

With finances being such a key issue, and bid writing for project funding sometimes being a complex task, we have organised a regional one day event which we hope will demystify the area of bid writing, show what opportunities exist and outline what makes an effective bid.

The day will help learning providers understand what the funders are looking for and will also include elements of project planning, an often overlooked part of the process. For work based learning providers it’s also a great opportunity to learn more about the Learning Innovation Grants that I’ve mentioned so often, discover why certain applicants were successful in their bids, and what makes a good bid? Terry Loane of DawsonLoane will be on hand to answer these questions and more.

As with all our events there are more details on the website so please visit there for more info but it’s worth noting here that as an RSC event we have been able to subsidise the cost of this event for the region and are able to offer places at a reduced rate of £60. I’m sure I don’t need to suggest you book early!

Hope to see you there.

E-Guides updates

NIACE have just announced that there is some availability on the E-Guides training programme and have confirmed that capital grants of £2,500 are now also available for attendance on these. See this previous post for dates in this region and details of how to book. This other post also lists a few of the activities that previous attendees undertook after their initial training, highlighting just how much enthusiasm the programme generates.

Follow up training, E-Guides Plus

In addition to the 3-day E-Guides Training programme, NIACE are also offering follow-up events for existing E-Guides. These free, one day events are designed to enable E-Guides to refresh and build on their skills and knowledge through practical hands-on workshops.

Details of these 'E-Guides Plus’ events and a booking form are available at: www.niace.org.uk/eguidesplus Hope to see some of you there!

Staff Development (and Capital Grants) for Work Based Learning Leaders

The Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL) has now published new dates for more of their leadership programmes that support the strategic development of e-learning.

For staff that have already completed CEL’s Connect and Realise programmes, the follow up programme ‘WBL Explorer’ now has availability in this region, and capital funding attached. (This capital grant entitles LSC-funded organisations to claim a £2,500 grant for each staff member who has completes one of CEL’s e-learning leadership programmes, up to a maximum of £7,500 per organisation). Read more about the grants here or more about the WBL Explorer programme here.

New WBL Explorer dates for this region are as follows:

7 October 2008 – day 1 - Birmingham
4 December 2008 – day 2 - Birmingham
10 February 2009 – day 3 - Birmingham
25 June 2009 – Landmarks – London

As with many of these types of programmes I’d advise that you book fast if you are interested in attending. Places do fill up fast and it is a case of first come first served!

CEL recommend that WBL organisations attend ConnecT and Realise before starting the WBL explorer programme. Unfortunately the new round of Connect and Realise courses are out of region this time but its still worth enquiring with CEL directly if you have an interest in these.

To book a place or enquire about any of the programmes, please email enquiries@centreforexcellence.org.uk

WBL Funding Opportunity - Pathfinder Projects

Innovate now has details of a new funding opportunity for work based learning: Further Education (FE) Specialisation and Innovation pathfinder funding.

It sounds a bit like funding for Further Education, but this funding actually also supports work based learning providers who are working in specialist networks. In fact, these new Pathfinder projects are likely to affect a number of organisations – starting with Further Education colleges and training providers, but embracing employers and their supply chains too.

Funding of £250-£500,000 for 1 year is available for these projects – possibly more for really ambitious ones. The new Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) will also be supporting this work through its World Class Skills – developing responsive provision programme.

More information and application forms can be downloaded from the LSC website. The LSC will also be hosting a workshop to support this round of funding, details of which will be posted on their website (and here on wobble) in due course.

Provider Matching Service

The Association of Learning Providers (ALP) is now providing a ‘provider matching service’ for any work based learning providers wishing to work in a consortium as part of their application for Learner Innovation Grant funding. This is useful as the emphasis in this round of funding is on working together and so this will be a useful tool for finding possible working partners.

If you would like your details added to the register, please e-mail lig4@learningproviders.org with your name, organisation, e-mail address, telephone number, vocational area and region.
Great to see at a provider from our region has already registered.

A forum discussion has also been set up on the Quality Improvement Agency’s Excellence Gateway to support this fourth round of applications. Should you wish to join in the discussion you can access that here.

More than 7 Things You Should Know About...

Some time ago I signposted a series of articles that covered ‘seven things you should know about' regarding e-learning. Now, some years later (and containing considerably more than seven tools) this series is still proving to be a useful resource for anyone who wants to stay up to date on what e-learning technologies or practices are becoming available.

Developed by the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, the ‘seven things’ series is made up of easy to follow information sheets each of which provide concise information on emerging learning technologies. Each brief focuses on a single technology or practice, describing:

· What it is
· How it works
· Where it is going
· Why it matters to teaching and learning

These can be useful guides if you’re exploring ways that technology might be able to help you to develop your own teaching/recruitment/retention or if you have heard of various e-learning tools but would like to know more about how they can be applied.

* For example, if you want to know more about Flickr – the photo-sharing website where anyone can upload photos, browse others' photos, and add their comments, then click here (pdf format)

* For more about digital storytelling (which involves combining narrative with digital content to create a movie) click here (pdf format).

The remainder of the series contains a vast array of titles all in the same easy to use format. The list includes information on how you might use such things as e-books, online social networks, screen casting, podcasting, virtual meetings using videoconferencing, instant messaging and much more. Useful things to think about at a time where there is funding being made available to support providers using tools such as these.

(Worth noting also that should you need any more information on any of the tools noted, you can also refer to Innovate and join in the discussion of how many of these e-learning tools are used in practice. Or get in touch).

Learner Innovation Grants - Launch and Support

Last week a number of work based learning providers from across the country attended the launch of Round 4 of the successful Learner Innovation Grants programme managed by ALP. Unfortunately the event was oversubscribed so some missed out, however such high numbers did signal a very positive demand for funding to support e-learning development.

The day featured a number of presentations, all of which will are now available on ALPs new website so if you weren’t able to make the event you can still learn a lot from those. Our RSC National WBL Co-ordinator summarised some of the key points worth noting:

· In this round, there will be a 6.9% + VAT management service contribution which will be payable upfront by the lead bidder prior to signing of the agreement
· The focus is on Train to Gain and Apprenticeships
· ALP are encouraging consortia bids – with funding ranging from £50k to £200k for those, and £50k to £100k for single bids
· Bid submission will be by the 8th September
· ALP recommend that bids refer to national and regional strategic objectives and priorities
· Projects should consider sustainability
· Allocation letters will be sent out week commencing 17th November
· Interim evaluations will be in March 2009 with final evaluations taking place in June 2009

A full prospectus and FAQ on ALPs website offer much more detail and the application form is now available on-line.

What also came out of the day was the amount of support that is now available to help providers make the most of this round of funding. This summary document (pdf.format) outlines all of the organisations who are offering support not just for this LIG funding but to all LSC funded providers wanting to progress their e-learning. It’s certainly worth making a note of these if you haven’t already engaged with them.

As well as the face to face support available a forum has also been established on QIA to:

· Ensure all providers are aware of the LIG project
· Share best practice from the LIG projects
· Support providers through the bidding and delivery phases of the LIG project
· Develop case studies showing the positive impact of the LIG projects

Like the networking pages of Innovate, it’s a good place to chat with other providers about some of the issues relating to this round of funding, and to get answers to LIG 4 questions that may have already been asked.

More ALP Learner Innovation Grants - Phase 4

ALP has just announced that a further £4 million pounds will now be made available as Phase 4 of the successful Learner Innovation Grants programme of funding. (I've previously mentioned earlier rounds of funding here).

These Learner Innovation Grants provide capital investment for Government funded, independent work-based learning organisations (offering Apprenticeships or Train to Gain learning programmes) to exploit the use of technology in learning and management. The programme has already enabled over 400 organisations to benefit from the grants, enabling the development of a range of innovative projects which vary in complexity and size. In this region, there are already some great examples of these grants being used to enhance the learners experience. For example:

* At Triangle Training LIG funding was used to purchase equipment (laptops, digital cameras and voice recorders) to enable their assessors to use the Paperfree E-Portfolio system with a cohort of Apprentices. Learn more here.

* Juniper Training’s LIG Phase 2 project used multi-media technology to improve E2E referrals, retention and achievement. Learn more here.

* Greenspring Training’s 21st Century project aimed to remove the myth that learning cannot be enjoyed. Fun was provided through music, IT, Interactive Boards allowing their young learners to embrace learning in a way best suited to them through assessments. Learn more here.

Want to know more?

If you are interested to know, ALP are hosting a one day event (in this region, which is great) that will be focusing on this new Phase 4 of the grants. "Provider of the Future - Learning Innovation Grant 4 funding " will be held on 17 June 2008 The ICC, Birmingham.

The event will inform providers on the new criteria and new process of application and raise awareness of other funding and services available for the sector. Use the links below to book. Hope to see you there!

Book Online
Print a booking form
Register your Interest

Mobile Learning in the Work Based Learning Sector

I’ve recently promised several people links to mobile learning related sites so thought I’d post them here so that everyone can share.

The NIACE Mobile Technology website offers lots of practical suggestions and examples of how and why handheld devices can be used in teaching and learning in the sector. It includes sections that cover:

What to look for when buying the devices, with reviews and suggestions
FAQs and issues that organisations experience
Technical Tips, troubleshooting, software and hardware solutions
Guidelines for using the technology accessibly
The Future and the changing world of handheld devices
An a-z glossary of mobile technology terms

I posted a free online Mobile Learning guide here on Wobble back in November. This guide is aimed at people in the learning and training community who are keen to learn more about the potential applications and practicalities of mobile learning in their organisations.

The m-Learning and Accessibility section of the TechDis website explores the accessibility issues around mobile devices, focusing on Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and mobile phones.

Using PDAs with learners focuses on work being carried out by Dewsbury College in West Yorkshire into the use of PDAs in Outreach Centres. There, a childcare tutor is using PDAs in her delivery of NVQ Level 3 Early Years Care and Education.

ACLearn’s Resource Exchange has a useful page on Mobile Learning which addresses the question - why use mobile devices for learning and then also goes on to outline some of the issues.

The LSDA report Mobile technologies and learning (pdf format) presents some exciting ideas on how mobile technologies, such as smartphones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), can be useful learning aids - particularly with young people. It noted that “The learners were mostly enthusiastic about mobile learning and 62% reported that they felt more keen to take part in future learning after trying mobile learning”. It also suggests that mobile learning can make a useful contribution to attracting young people to learning, maintaining their interest and supporting their learning and development.

Finally, on the subject of mobile learning its worth noting that right now, there are 32 project teams across the country involved in Mobile Learning Projects supported by the MoleNet initiative. These will no doubt result in a lot more material being available to support developments in the mobile learning area.

There are also plans to extend the MoleNet work into a Wider MoLeNET community . This will extend access to the MoLeNET on-line networking and knowledge sharing system to enable more people with an interest in mobile learning to benefit. This wider network will also offer face-to-face events which project teams and members of the wider community can join. Watch this space to learn more about that as it is rolled out.

Capital grants for LSC funded providers

The LSC is making capital funds available to providers whose staff attend various e-learning programmes that are being delivered under the QIA National Teaching and Learning Change Programme (NTLCP). These programmes include NIACE E-Guides, CEL’s e-learning programmes and the LSN Subject Learning Coaches’ e-learning elective.

Many of these programmes have already proved to be very popular in the region so it’s great to see that additional funding is now being made available to support them. It can help providers to be able to purchase the technology which allows their staff to fully realise the skills they have gained on the programmes.

Providers will be able to claim £2,500 of funding to buy ILT equipment and up to three participants per provider can attend each of the programmes. Providers can therefore, claim up to £7,500 from LSN, £7,500 from NIACE, and £7,500 from CEL – totalling a maximum of £22,500 per provider (which in e-learning terms can buy a lot of kit!)

The grant is available for staff attending programmes running from September 2007 to July 2008. As you can imagine, places on the programmes are limited, so if you’re interested in benefiting from this round of funding I’d suggest you book as soon as you can. You can do this for each of the programmes using the links below:

Dates and a booking form for the E-Guides training programme are here.
Further information about CEL’s training programme is here
For further information about Subject Learning Coaches e-elective is here.

It’s worth noting that most programmes also have an email waiting list facility for people to register interest so please get in touch if there is a programme you wish to be considered for that is noted on the website as full. New dates are being considered for some of the programmes to accommodate demand.

Capital Funding for Staff Development

I’ve updated our website with details of a brand new round of capital funding that’s just been made available to WBL providers. This is for attendance on various e-learning staff development programmes that are currently being run by the Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL) and the National Institute for Adult Continuing Education (NIACE).

WBL providers are now eligible to claim £2,500 of funding when a delegate from their organisation completes an eligible staff development programme - a great incentive for getting staff go along and discuss the potential of e-learning and to try out e-learning technologies.

You’ll find links and details of all these individual programmes on our website but I’ve also previously noted some of the activities that are covered by the E-Guides programme here. That should give you an idea of the kind of e-learning skills (and enthusiasm!) that attendees have previously come away with.

This funding is available for delegates attending on programmes that are running between 1 November 2007 and 31 August 2008 but if you’re interested in registering for any of the programmes (which I’d definately recommend) then I’d suggest you reserve your places now as places are limited! Booking details are available on our website.